Edward Snowden: Of course he didnt say this in person at the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs this month. Snowden is living in Russia, though I dont know how long he will live. He sent them a nice letter, according to The Star. The Internet was a communications revolution and then it was betrayed. Governments are now inside your head, inside your house and, frankly, inside your underpants. They track everything you do online, follow you wherever you go and list your friends and Mass surveillance is the greatest human rights challenge of our time, Edward Snowden says. He is right. But there is a grand effort going on right now by governments worldwide to subvert efforts to call a halt to mass surveillance. We are in the middle of a huge PR battle. Its aimed at you, so pay attention. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper: G. L. Peiris says Harper and Canada are alone in the boycott of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and that all other 53 countries of the group are attending, according to Huffington Post. Harper, who says the boycott is in protest of Sri Lanka's human rights abuses, is also threatening to yank Canadian funding to the Commonwealth, which at nearly $20 million annually makes Canada the second-largest financial supporter of the bloc and Sri Lanka's foreign minister says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is "totally isolated" in his decision to ditch the upcoming Commonwealth summit in Colombo, Agence France-Presse reports. "Canada is totally isolated in this situation because we have the overwhelming support of all other countries," he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bargnani: You suck Bargnani! he screamed, according to The Star. The newest Knick was booed upon introduction. He was booed whenever he touched the ball against the Raptors . He was booed when he passed, then cheered when he missed and In the small moment of silence between the end of the Star Spangled Banner and t of O Canada, some kind-hearted soul in the upper bowl set the tone. Down on the court, Andrea Bargnani stared straight ahead, unfazed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lampedusa: Helicopters ferried the injured to Lampedusa, the Italian island that is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and the destination of choice for most smugglers boats leaving Tunisia or Libya. It was off Lampedusa that a migrant ship from Libya capsized on Oct. 3 with some 500 people aboard. Only 155 survived, according to The Star. The two shipwrecks were the latest grim reminder of the extreme risks that migrants and asylum-seekers often take in an effort to slip into Europe every year by boat. Facing unrest and persecution in Africa and the Middle East, many of the migrants think the escape route to Lampedusa, which is barely 113 kilometres from northern Africa, is worth the risk and VALLETTA, MALTA For the second time this month, a smugglers boat overloaded with migrants capsized in the Strait of Sicily on Friday as it made the perilous crossing from Africa to Europe. At least 27 people drowned, but 221 people were rescued in a joint Italian-Maltese operation, officials said. Fridays capsizing occurred 105 kilometres southeast of Lampedusa, but in waters where Malta has search and rescue responsibilities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Michael Sean Stanley: The federal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to address an ongoing law enforcement matter, said U.S. authorities were aware of a warning from Canada that Michael Sean Stanley might try to cross the border. But officials allowed Stanley through the border in Blaine, Washington, after reviewing his information in a biometric records check and finding they had no legal authority to extradite him, according to Times Colonist. "The detectives would like to see Mr. Stanley arrested and held accountable," Thenu said and SEATTLE - A high-risk sex offender being sought in Canada was allowed back into United States after authorities determined that he was a U.S. citizen and not the subject of an extraditable arrest warrant, a U.S. law enforcement official said Friday. Patrycia Thenu, a spokeswoman for the Edmonton Police Service in Canada, said she couldn't comment on what should or should not have happened at the border. She said authorities are now looking into the extradition process and working with other agencies in Canadian government on that effort. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lampedusa: VALLETTA, Malta - For the second time in a week, a smugglers' boat overloaded with migrants capsized in the Canal of Sicily on Friday as it made the perilous crossing from Africa to Europe. At least 27 people drowned, but 221 people were rescued in a joint Italian-Maltese operation, officials said. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Friday's capsizing occurred 65 miles 105 kilometres southeast of Lampedusa, but in waters where Malta has search and rescue responsibilities. In this photo released by the Maltese Army, migrants are aboard a life raft after a boat carrying an estimated 200 migrants capsized off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa Friday, Oct.11, 2013. The capsizing occurred some 65 miles 105 kilometers southeast of Lampedusa, but in waters where Malta has search and rescue responsibilities. Last week, a migrant boat carrying some 500 Eritreans capsized off Lampedusa, killing at least 339. Only 155 people survived. AP Photo/Maltese Army HO Helicopters ferried the injured to Lampedusa, the Italian island that is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and the destination of choice for most smugglers' boats leaving Tunisia or Libya. It was off Lampedusa that a migrant ship from Libya capsized Oct. 3 with some 500 people aboard. Only 155 survived. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Winnipeg Jewish Theatre: GOOD Intentions, a topical new drama by emerging Winnipeg playwright Ginny Collins, follows a pair of well-meaning Canadians to South Africa to see if they're actually offering a hurting hand to the needy people they've come halfway across the world to help. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Good Intentions Winnipeg Jewish Theatre Until Oct. 20 at Berney Theatre Tickets: $40, $32 senior , $15 students at 204-477-7478 Four stars out of five Dylan Hewlett photo Ray Strachan as Godfrey and Andrea Houssin as Hannah. The central character is Hannah, an idealistic Jewish-Canadian doctor driven since medical school to spend her life doing good in parts of the globe that have long endured suffering. Her purpose is "tikkum olam" -- Hebrew for repairing or healing the world -- which refers to the Jewish obligation to fix what is broken in society. After meeting Peter, a non-Jewish economics student, at university, the two take up residence in a rural South African village. She runs a small hospital with Godfrey, a local doctor in training, while Peter sits at home researching traditional trade systems that might not have been as backward as colonists first thought. Theatre review (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Glendon Sanchez: The seasonal farm worker, who has been planting and harvesting in southwestern Ontario for more than 14 years, hopes 9-year-old Divine will one day understand why her da is away so much, according to The Star. Sanchezs devotion to Divine is the reason he applied for Employment Insurance parental benefits in 2009, when he first learned about the program and Ottawas willingness to accept claims dating back as far as 1990 from migrant workers who didnt realize they were eligible and Glendon Sanchez thinks about his daughter in Trinidad every day. There is no work back home, so I come here. I do it for her, said Sanchez, 37, who works 11-hour days on a Chatham-area fruit farm from late March to early November. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Progressive Conservative Leader: The 2011 campaign was supposed to be different. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Two years ago this month, Selinger squared off against Progressive Conservative Leader Hugh Mc-Fadyen, who already had one campaign to his credit and whose party had gained strength. Polls, and the final vote on Oct. 4, showed it really was the tightest race since the 1950s, with the NDP and the Tories within two points of each other in the popular vote. The Manitoba legislature RUTH BONNEVILLE / Photo Store It was the provinces first fixed election, with a host of new rules and plenty of organizational lead time to level the political playing field. It was Premier Greg Selingers big test, his first time wooing an entire province, his chance to step out of the shadow of charismatic former premier Gary Doer, one of Canadas most popular politicians. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Conservatives: The poll by Winnipeg-based Probe Research for The Winnipeg Free Press , which surveyed 1,002 people in late September, still gave Conservatives the lead in the province, with 42 per cent to 32 per cent for the Liberals. But that represents a dramatic shift since the 2011 election: a drop of 11 points for the Tories and a gain of 15 for the Liberals, giving Grits their best numbers since the 2004 election when they won three of the province's 14 seats. They currently hold only one, according to Huffington Post. The poll shows Liberals trailing the Conservatives by only two points in Winnipeg. Outside of the provincial capital, where two byelections in Brandon-Souris and Provencher will be held, the Conservatives had a 22-point lead. Even so, that is radically different from the last election when the Liberals took just seven per cent of the vote. The poll now gives them 28 per cent in the region and As voters in two Manitoba ridings wait for an impending byelection call, a new poll shows the Liberals have made significant gains in the province and have supplanted New Democrats as the main alternative to Stephen Harper . The New Democrats placed third with 22 per cent, a drop of four points since the last election, while the Greens held steady with four per cent support. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.